NCAA Women's Basketball Championship Bracket Revealed Exclusively on ESPN & ESPNU Selection Monday Specials
Expanded Coverage by espnW
ESPN will unveil the 64-team NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship field exclusively during the NCAA Women's Basketball Selection Special Presented by Capital One on Monday, March 18, at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN and WatchESPN. First-year host Kevin Negandhi will join veteran analysts Kara Lawson, Carolyn Peck, Doris Burke and Rebecca Lobo in studio.
The discussion will continue at 8 p.m. on ESPNU with the NCAA Women's Basketball Selection Special Extended Coverage Presented by Capital One when Negandhi, Lawson, Peck and Lobo are joined by espnW writer Mechelle Voepel. The ESPNU show will include an exclusive interview with Carolayne Henry, the chair of the NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Committee.
The two hours of programming on Selection Monday will tip off ESPN's comprehensive coverage of the NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship March 23-April 9, on ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN3, WatchESPN and ESPN FULL COURT. In addition, ESPN will provide additional NCAA Championship content across its platforms, including SportsCenter, espnW, ESPN.com, ESPNEWS and ESPN International.
Show Highlights:
· The shows will include insight into the bracket with analysis of each region, teams, plus the players to watch as they vie for a Final Four spot in New Orleans.
· Live look-ins at "3 to See" schools - as the teams await seeding for the championship, plus interviews with Brittney Griner of Baylor, Elena Delle Donne of Delaware and Skylar Diggins of Notre Dame.
· An exclusive interview with NCAA Chair Henry.
· Voepel joins the crew to provide her thoughts on the placement of the teams in the bracket.
College Basketball Live: NCAA Women's Special
Hosts Beth Mowins and Cara Capuano, along with analysts Debbie Antonelli, Maria Taylor and Brooke Weisbrod, will take part in the revamped four-hour ESPNU special on Tuesday, March 19, at 1 p.m. that will focus not only on interviews, but also in-depth analysis of the bracket. Capuano will focus on interviews with players and coaches from the 64-team bracket. The rest of the crew will conduct an expert-style panel with a complete bracket breakdown and big-picture topics.
espnW
espnW will provide fans with extensive coverage of Selection Monday from its team of analysts and experts. Highlights:
· Columnist Graham Hays answers Five Burning Questions off the newly released bracket, including toughest/easiest region, toughest path for a No. 1 seed, potential Cinderella teams.
· Voepel, along with Bracketologist Charlie Creme and Michelle Smith, will have in-depth analysis of the bracket
· espnW experts will make their NCAA Championship selections
· Still photos and flip-cam footage sent in from schools around the nation with their reactions to receiving an NCAA Championship invite
· Video: overall bracket breakdown and four segments with region-by-region analysis
ESPN Women's Tournament Challenge
The game returns for the 16th season on the digital hard court and will once again be free for entrants to submit up to 10 entries on ESPN.com. Fans complete and submit a bracket of forecasted tournament game outcomes and points are awarded for each correct pick, with point values increasing as the Tournaments progress. In the Women's Tournament Challenge, entries that finish in the top one percent are entered in a random drawing for a $5,000 Best Buy Gift Card. The Women's Tournament Challenge will accept registration until just prior to tip-off of the first game on Saturday, March 23.
ESPN to Air All 63 NCAA Championship Games
All 63 games of the 2012 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship will air on ESPN networks for the eighth consecutive year. ESPN and ESPN2 will present its telecasts in a whip-around format with home market protection through the first two rounds. ESPN3 will offer first- and second-round games in its entirety as a supplement to ESPN and ESPN's coverage. ESPN FULL COURT, the pay-per-view package, will offer first- and second-round games in its entirety as a supplement to ESPN and ESPN2's coverage. The final 15 games, beginning with the Regional Semifinals, will have national telecast windows on ESPN or ESPN2.
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